A Family Tradition

Jim and Fred Burch circa. 1959

In the early 1950s, Frank Burch and his son, Hale, purchased their first farm together. Previous to this, Frank had had a career in the fruit processing industry. Hale had recently returned from serving in the U.S. Army during World War II. They purchased the “home farm” on North Ave. in Hilton and another farm property nearby on Curtis Road. Frank and Hale incorporated the farm business in 1961 and it became Frank and Hale Burch Farms, Inc. Another of Frank’s sons, John, joined the family farming business in 1961. In the early 1970s Frank stopped actively farming. Sadly, Hale passed away in 1973. John continued farming and his brother, Jim, joined the business in 1977. In 1980 they purchased a farm on Cook Rd. in Hamlin, NY which brought the farm to a size of approximately 250 acres. Today John’s sons, Ben, Justin and Bayard, have joined Jim and John in carrying on the family farming tradition.

Our current farm production includes 110 acres of apples, 6.5 acres of peaches, 1 acre of nectarines, 3 acres of strawberries, 1.5 acres of sweet cherries, 1 acre of raspberries and blueberries, and .5 acres of tart cherries, currants and gooseberries. The remainder of our acreage is used for support, wildlife habitat and some crop land is rented to other area farmers.